BECAUSE SHE'S WORTH IT. ISN'T SHE?? *UNCUT VERSION*

If reports are to be believed, Cheryl ‘Angel of the North’ Cole, will bag £1.7 million if she agrees to take part in the next series of the X Factor, thanks to a huge pay rise. Her presence on the show is vital, according to insiders and her boss, Simon Cowell. As far as I can tell, she is basically paid to be a role model for the young and misled working class who idolise her - for what, I don’t know, and as a result of that pathetic infatuation, which is also shared by an alarming percentage of adults - they tune in to watch Simon Cowell’s live pop star factory on a Saturday night. I ask once again - what’s so special about Cheryl? Perhaps it’s because she managed to drag herself out of the council estate she used to live in and became rich, famous and desperately sought after for, well - not very much at all. She's stunning, I'll give her that. But there are plenty of stunning pop stars out there. If there’s anything she could justifiably pioneer, it’s taking advantage of the ridiculous, mindless society we live in that puts anyone on a pedestal, regardless of what they’ve achieved in life. Call me jealous and bitter if you want. I can’t argue that I’m slightly jealous of her wealth and the apparent ease at which she makes everyone adore her, but seriously – I wouldn’t be too proud of myself if I were her and I come from a working class family myself.

'Our Chez'

I have tried for a long time to understand what everyone sees in her, but I can’t seem to get past the fact that her success is largely down to luck and the fact that much of the population shares her mentality. It’s this she owes her success to, not forgetting an incredible PR agent and a bloody good dentist. If someone’s idea of a role model is a working class girl who won a place in a tacky girl band, beat a toilet attendant up over some chupa-chups (lollipops), had to do community service for her crime and then went on to have some thorns tattooed around her thigh, marry a footballer, veneer her teeth and extend her hair until she became known as the prettiest girl in showbiz, whilst occasionally singing live, very badly – then fine. If everyone can just admit that, I’ll get over it and move somewhere that still values people for their talents and achievements, somewhere where the general population still has some taste. Because as far as I’m concerned, she’s down there with other useless tabloid fodder like the deceased Jade Goody and Katie ‘Jordan’ Price, who the population can’t seem to get enough of.

We used to have role models we could be proud of, we used to idolise people who actually deserved the accolades and publicity thrown their way - Lady Diana used much of her life and fame to help others and Mother Teresa was a living Saint. I’m not suggesting that you have to be a missionary to make the front page or devote your whole life to charity and adopt a mansion full of foreign orphans before you can be admired (I’m not even sure that works for Madonna and Angelina) but you’ve got to be more than be a living mannequin with built in waterworks and such phrases as ‘I thoroughly enjoyed that’, ‘you’re my little pop star’ and now - ‘because you’re worth it.’ The L’Oreal deal is bad enough, they’re paying her to tell us it’s their shampoo that makes her hair huge, not £10,000 worth of extensions. But now Cheryl’s on the cover of Vogue! I used to adore that magazine for the snobbish, high-end glossy it was. Now it’s cashing in, like everyone else, on the public fascination for ‘chav done good’.

Most telling are the comments I hear from certain men about ‘our Chez’, as she is affectionately known by her fans. I can’t repeat them here, [this was for the Topper, I think you all know full well I'd put it on my blog!] but it’s always things they’d like to do to her. There’s usually a ring involved but it’s not on her finger and sometimes it’s not even consensual. In some ways I feel sorry for her. She’ll never be known for her ability to empower women, let alone her ability to sing, write songs, conduct business deals, front charities... Sadly for her, she’s famed for her face, her attire of a Saturday night as she sits primly next to Simon Cowell, her rocky marriage to Ashley Cole and her seemingly innocent way of provoking men to want to violate her. Her unprecedented popularity is a disturbing sign of the times.